Tour Big Ben Clock Tower

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The Big Ben Clock Tower in the Houses of Parliament in London England is no doubt the most famous of clocks in the world. Its classic Westminster Chimes have become the choice favored by millions in the clock collectors world, especially for grandfather clocks. Below is a picture postcard of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament circa 1910. Also below, and even more fascinating, are pictures and facts regarding "Big Ben", including the works and Dial and movement ALL ON THE INSIDE! The book that these photos and description came from was also published circa 1910. So look below at the Big Ben Tower Clock and step back into TIME almost 100 YEARS AGO. It has not changed!

BEHIND THE GREAT FACE OF BIG BEN

At the top of 360 steps in the Clock Tower at Westminster, Big Ben has marked time for London for over hundred and fifty years. It is not possible to realize the size of the clock as we stand on the ground. It has four faces, each 23 feet across -- nine or ten times as wide as a door. The minute hands are 14 feet long, and are higher than an ordinary room. The pendulum weighs nearly 450 lb. The figures on the face are each two feet long, and the minute spaces are a foot square. If you look at your watch, you will see the minute hand move in little jumps ; the minute hand of Big Ben jumps half a foot every time it moves. It is not easy to believe these figures, but that is because our eyes deceive us when we look up to a great height, and Big Ben stands so high that if thirty tall men stood on one another's shoulders the top man would only touch the middle of its face.

THE BIG BELL OF BIG BEN

Big Ben is the great bell which strikes the hours at the Houses of Parliament. It is made of copper and tin, and is nearly 8 feet high and 9 1/2 feet wide at the bottom. But Big Ben is not the largest bell in London. The largest is Great Paul, at St. Paul's Cathedral. Great Paul weighs 17 1/2 tons, and its hammer weighs 180 lb.

Big Ben needs a workshop all his own. The great bell, from which the clock takes its name, hangs by 1,600 feet of chain from an oak beam bound in iron plates. It weighs 13 1/2 tons, and the hammer with which the hours are struck weighs about 450 lb. There is a great noise in the room when the bell is about to strike, and the machine shown in the bottom picture has to be wound up three times a week to give Big Ben the power to strike the hours. It takes two men about five hours to wind up Big Ben for striking.

HOW TO TELL TIME BY THE CLOCK

HE clock-face has a ring of large figures from 1 to 12 ; these mark the hours. Outside these large figures is a ring of tiny marks ; these mark the minutes. One of the hands is longer than the other ; the long hand marks the minutes and the short hand marks the hours. When the short hand points to 1 and the long hand is exactly at the top of the clock-face over 12, it is 1 o'clock. When the short hand points exactly to one of the large figures, the long hand is always at the top, and it is exactly the hour.

But if the short hand is a little past one of the large figures it is some minutes past the hour, and we know exactly how many minutes it is by counting the tiny marks on the outer ring. There are five of these marks between each of the large figures, so tha t when the long hand is at 2 it is 10 minutes -- twice 5 minutes -- past the hour.

The minute hand goes round the clock one in an hour ; the short hand goes from one large figure to the next in an hour. When the long hand is a quarter of the way round, it is a quarter-past the hour to which the short hand points ; when the long hand is half-way round, it is half-past the hour. Here is a full and simple explanation of the face of a clock.

THE face of a clock is divided into 12 clear wide spaces and 60 narrow ones, and each wide space stands for two things. It takes the long hand 5 minutes to cross one wide space, and the short hand one hour to cross the same space.

A minute is 60 seconds, and an hour is 60 minutes. The clock begins with the minutes, and the face of the clock is marked off with tiny lines into 60 narrow spaces. The large hand marks the minutes, and takes exactly one minute to cross one of these narrow spaces. So that this hand takes exactly one hour, or 60 minutes, to pass all the narrow spaces round the clock.

But it would never do to have 60 small spaces and to leave us to guess the exact space which the long hand touched. Put 60 matches in a row on the table, touch one near the middle, and ask somebody to tell you the number of the match you touch, and you will see that a great deal of slow counting is necessary to get the proper number. It would never do to have to spend so long in finding out the time.

So the wise clockmakers mark off 60 narrow spaces into 12 divisions, each division having 5 narrow spaces. When we have to count with our eyes, as we do with the clock, it is hard to pick out one in 60, but it is easy to pick out one in 5, and we have now 12 simple divisions, each with 5 spaces. It takes the long hand 5 minutes to cross one of these divisions, 10 minutes to cross two of them, and 60 minutes, or 12 times 5, to cross them all. When the long hand has crossed all these divisions, therefore, we know that 60 minutes, or one hour, has gone.

That is simple. The long hand crosses one narrow space in 1 minute, two in 2 minutes, 60 in 60 minutes. Once round the clock by the long hand is an hour. If we had only to think of minutes, that would be quite enough ; but as we reckon time in hours and days, and as there are 24 hours in a day, we must have some means of counting hours, as well as minutes, by the clock. So the clock is marked off into hours, as well as minutes, and the hours are marked in a very clever way.

We do not count 24 hours, but only 12, because twice 12 are 24, and it is simple to count 12 hours before the middle of the day, and 12 after. The clock, therefore, has 12 hours marked, and goes round from 1 to 12, when it begins again at 1. We call the first part of the day A.M., which means before noon, and the second part P.M., which means after noon; and whenever the clock points to 3, or to 4, we know whether it is before or after middle day.

The cleverness of the way in which the clock marks the hours is this. We know that the 60 minute marks are marked off into 12 divisions, and there must therefore be 12 dividing walls to separate them. Now, as the clock needs 12 signs to mark the hours, the figures from 11 to 12 are used to mark off the 12 divisions, and to mark the 12 hours as well.

So that, instead of needing two clock-faces, one for minutes and one for hours, one face serves for both. While the long hand marks the minutes at the narrow spaces, the short hand marks the hours at the 12 big figures between the spaces.

About Us

1-800-4CLOCKS is BOTH the name of our Store and our Company -- this is by far the most frequent question we are asked! Our main Store was located for many years in New York City's Grand Central Station, and has the registered name 1-800-4CLOCKS (like 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-CONTACTS or 1-800-MATTRESS).

The Lowest Price Guaranteed with our 110% PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE

For ALL the major brands we sell, 1-800-4CLOCKS will MEET or BEAT any legitimate online offer from ANY Authorized Dealer for that brand of clock. Find a lower price online according to terms and conditions described, and we will match it plus will discount it by 10% of the difference. ADDITIONALLY, if you buy a clock or other item from 1-800-4CLOCKS and within 10 days you find it at a currently available lower price at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com®, call and show us the lower price and we will refund the difference.

It's this simple:

Find a lower price online, as described.

Save the URL and item number with the lower price.

Call 1-800-4CLOCKS (1-800-425-6257, and press 2) to complete the process.

Note: If you buy from an unauthorized dealer, your manufacturer's warranty will not be valid!

Please note, this applies to ALL our clocks such as Howard Miller, Ridgeway, Kieninger, Hermle, Bulova and even includes special editions such as Anniversary or Commemorative editions. However, this does not apply to discontinued, floor samples, or if you accept one of our financing offers. Any other possible rebates would also need to be addressed in good faith.

Free In Home Setup*

(Please Call Us & Ask Us If You Wonder How We Can Guarantee Free In Home Setup Across The Entire USA!)
1-800-4CLOCKS Offers FREE SETUP of your Grandfather Clock in your home (or Office) ANYWHERE within the USA for any New Grandfather Clock Purchase over US $1,000, whether chain-driven or cable-driven. For Customers outside of the USA (including Alaska & Hawaii), please email us as to how to obtain set-up assistance if desired. This Service Applies to new Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, new Hermle Grandfather Clocks, Bulova Grandfather Clocks, Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks and new Kieninger Grandfather Clocks only -- NOT Antique Grandfather Clocks.

Free In Home Setup is available only in the Continental US (48 States).

Free Shipping

At 1-800-4CLOCKS you save on shipping, too! We offer FREE shipping on all orders over $100 within the Continental USA and to CANADA, for all new Ridgeway Clocks, all new Howard Miller Clocks (over $100), all new Kieninger Clocks, and all new Hermle Clocks as well, along with other brands we already represent and are always adding. However, Bulova Clocks may from time-to-time not be available for shipment to Canada

For orders under USD $100.00 within the USA and to CANADA, we charge a flat fee of $15.

All orders within the Continental USA 48 States AND CANADA over US$100 automatically qualify for Free Shipping. All other international shipments (and to Alaska and Hawaii) will be calculated after the order is placed. Our checkout system (outside of the Continental USA & Canada) may require that you call us before you can place any order online. This is so we can offer the best possible prices, with you paying only the actual shipping cost.

No US Sales Tax

No US Sales Tax! Ever! If you ship to a New York address, WE'LL PAY the tax for you.

We encourage all our New York city tri-state area residents and organizations to contact us for a visit to our midtown manhattan store, or call us, to see first-hand the benefits of shopping with us in NYC! (Note: local tax laws may apply in Canada.)

Easy Financing

At 1-800-4CLOCKS, we strive to add value to meet all of our customers' financing needs, and to make ordering from us as positive experience as possible. That is why we offer THREE financing options. Two are available online while checking out. A third option requires contacting us and some back-and-forth to apply and then to setup if/when approved

Note: All financed options of mechanical grandfather clocks includes both FREE Shipping and FREE In-Home set-up ACROSS THE ENTIRE USA (excludes Alaska and Hawaii). (Excludes quartz models where we ask our customers to first make a good-faith effort at self-set-up as the majority of customers can easily set these up by themselves. If an issue, it is something we can address with you.)

Online Option One: PayPal Credit

If you purchase a clock from our online Store, and choose PayPal as your payment method, you'll be offered an option to use their PayPal Credit payment option. You do not need to have an existing PayPal account. You can quickly create one there if you choose PayPal Credit.

Depending upon the price point and subject to their Credit Approval, you will be eligible for 6 Months of 0% Financing -- No payment for 6 months, with Zero Interest (full payment due at end of 6 month period).

We are able to offer this at this time through purchases from us only through promotional financing we have in place with PayPal Credit. Please read the PayPal Credit Terms and Conditions carefully before agreeing. If you are not approved for the 0% Financing via PayPal Credit, or want a payment plan over as long as 18 months and are willing to pay interest, we encourage you to explore our second online checkout option if you want to make an online purchase with credit terms.

Online Option Two: Klarna Credit

Variable rates with payments terms as long as 18 Months

Klarna Credit has shared that it is in 65,000 stores and has more than 45 million users globally. It is currently much better known in Europe than it is in the USA. It offers its services in 18 countries and has been growing quickly. Klarna is viewed by many as an alternative to a credit card. Learn More at Klarna.com.

We are able to offer Klarna Credit at this time for purchases from us through financing we have in place with Klarna Credit DURING OUR ONLINE CHECKOUT PROCESS. One main advantage of Klarna Credit is that flexible payment plans of up to 18 months may be made available to qualified customers using Klarna Credit during our checkout process. It is important to note that Klarna purchases will be subject to interest rates and terms disclosed by Klarna during the checkout process. Please read the Klarna Credit Terms and Conditions which may be offered carefully before agreeing.

Third Option: Private Financing

12 month, 0% financing, subject to credit approval.

Note: This Options Should Be Considered Only By Persons with Excellent Credit Scores.

This option is provided through a Third Party Finance Company which allows us to offer 12-month, 0% financing. Subject to Credit Approval, you will have 12 equal monthly installments with no finance charges.

If you are interested in exploring this Option, please either call us at 1-800-4CLOCKS, Option 1 (1-800-425-6257, Option 1), or email us at Sales@1-800-4CLOCKS.com, and let us know which clock(s) you are considering for this form of financing, and that the clock would be shipped to a USA residential address (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) of the individual seeking the financing. We will then be in contact with you as to how to best proceed. Other restrictions may apply.